Our Art Curriculum
- Intent
- Implementation
- Impact
Art is incredibly important to our children as it gives each individual the opportunity to express themselves in a variety of ways.
At Green Lane infant school, we want the children to be creative and engaged with the knowledge and skills to experiment and create their own works of art and to become more proficient in a range of media.
Art enables children to communicate what they see, feel and think through the use of colour, texture, form, pattern and different materials and processes. Children become involved in shaping their environments through Art and Design activities. They learn to make informed judgements and aesthetic and practical decisions. They explore ideas and meanings through the work of artists and designers. Through learning about the roles and functions of art, they can explore the impact it has had on contemporary life and that of different times and cultures.
“If you hear a voice within you say ‘you cannot paint’, then by all means paint and that voice will be silenced.” –Vincent Van Gogh
“Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up.” –Pablo Picasso
To ensure high standards of teaching and learning in Art and Design, we implement a curriculum that is progressive throughout the whole school following the standards set out in the National Curriculum 2014. Our emphasis in knowledge ensures that children understand the context of the artwork, as well as the artists that are learning about and being inspired by. Children develop knowledge of individual artists as well as individual works and art movements. A similar focus on skills means that our children are given opportunities to express creative imagination, as well as practise and develop mastery in the key processes of Art: drawing, painting, printing, collage, textiles and sculpture.
We use the Chris Quigley structure to ensure we implement a coherently planned curriculum underpinned by our curriculum drivers. The Threshold Concepts build conceptual understanding and are repeated many times in each topic and this enables our children to reinforce and build upon prior learning, make connections and develop subject specific language. This provides the vertical accumulation of knowledge and skills. Milestones define the standards for the Threshold Concepts and provide clarity about what is to be learnt in each Key Stage.
The threshold concepts for these skills can be found in Chris Quigley’s Threshold Concepts for art and design:
Develop ideas – understanding how ideas develop through the artistic process.
Master techniques –developing a skill set so that ideas may be communicated.
Take inspiration from the greats –learning from both the artistic process and techniques of great artists and artisans throughout history.
We measure the impact of our curriculum through the following methods:
- Summative assessing of children’s understanding of topic (including vocabulary) using the milestones created by Chris Quigley
- Images and videos of the children’s practical learning including seesaw
- Interviewing the pupils about their learning (pupil voice)
- Annual reporting to parents of standards across the curriculum
Assessments of finished pieces of work
Art at Home
- Future Aspirations
- Books to Read Together
- Websites and Places to Visit
Curator, interior designer, hair and make-up artist, costume designer, illustrator, graphic designer, photographer or even designing the World Cup football, there are many exciting careers within the field of art and design.
Here is a link to BBC Bitesize where you can find a list of possible careers and interviews with people working within art and design.
James Mayhew’s collection of books allows you to follow the story of Katie as she adventures inside famous artworks throughout history.
Find out more about famous female artists and their work.
The Dot has an inspiring message of resilience, telling us we can all be artists.
One of our favourite artists at Green Lane, we love this book.
Find out more about some of the world’s most famous artists in this wonderful book from the Little People Big Dreams collection.
BBC Bitesize has some great videos with information about artists and different media
Google’s arts and culture guide lets you explore lots of famous artwork and galleries
Learn to draw online with Paul Carney
Make your own playdough following this Youtube tutorial. There are many useful and inspiring videos on the app.
Rob Biddulph is a famous author and illustrator. Learn step by step how to draw like him.
The Royal Academy lets you virtually visit their Picasso exhibition.
Places to visit
There are many places, local to Leicester which you could visit with your child to develop their knowledge and enthusiasm for art and design.
This incredible, immersive experience is just a short walk from the city centre. It uses digital technology to make you feel as if you are really inside Van Gogh’s paintings.
https://www.vangoghexpo.co.uk/leicester/
At the Leicester Museum and Art Gallery you can visit the Victorian Art Gallery, Arts & Crafts Gallery, Picasso Ceramics: The Attenborough Collection and Leicester’s internationally renowned German Expressionism collection. There are also various workshops and special events throughout the year. https://www.leicestermuseums.org/leicester-museum-art-gallery/
Attenborough Arts Centre has lots of events throughout the year including family workshops.
As well as being a small, independent cinema, the Phoenix also has a brilliant arts centre that hosts lots of exhibitions and family sessions.
There is inspiring street art all over Leicester City and the best part is, you can walk around and enjoy it all for free!
You can buy a guide to Leicester’s street art for £3.50 at the King Richard III visitor centre.